Shornemead Fort
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shornemead Fort (also spelt Shornmead) is a gun battery originally dating from the 1790s, built to support New Tavern Fort at Gravesend, Kent. It was redeveloped in the 1850s to a pentagonal plan, one of the first 'polygonal' works in the UK with 13 32 pounders (15 kg) on 3 faces.
Shornemead Fort was originally designed to be able to house 13 cannons, and work began in 1847, finishing 6 years later. Unfortunately, the ground that the fort stands on is extremely marshy, and proved to be incapable of supporting a structure as large as the one proposed. As a result, the fort was completely rebuilt.
The new fort was in the shape of a D, with the curved area being for gun placements and casemates, and behind that were barracks and admin buildings. The same problems with the marshy ground again caused major problems for the fort. In spite of superficial strengthening work being carried out on the magazines, it was decided by 1904 that Shornemead Fort could not possibly prove effective and withstand an attack that it was felt she would face, and the fort was disarmed. No further work took place around the fort until two 5.5inch guns were put in place during WWII; these were quickly decommissioned at the end of the war.
In the post war era, Shornemead Fort’s only use came as target practice for the Royal Engineers demolition squad, and their effectiveness is very evident by the concrete, bricks and rubble at the site; they are all that remain of the barracks and administrative buildings.
